ECB has ‘ample time’ to plot exit from pandemic asset purchases – Villeroy The European Central Bank has plenty of time to map out its exit from its pandemic asset purchase program, and could be more flexible about its buying after that, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Tuesday. As the euro zone economy rebounds and vaccination campaigns gain momentum, some hawkish central bankers have suggested the ECB should start contemplating how it will wind down its exceptional asset purchases from the crisis phase of the pandemic. That has boosted market speculation that the pace of bond buys under the ECB’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) could be discussed as soon as its June 10 meeting.